“We played in similar ways”- AB de Villiers on his partnership with Virat Kohli for RCB after being compared to Messi-Ronaldo

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli played together for RCB for 10 years.

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli ruled the roost for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) together in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a decade. Kohli has been with the franchise since 2008, while De Villiers joined the team in 2011, and together, they hammered bowlers for fun.

The South African legend revealed the key to their on-field relationship as the two produced some amazing partnership records.  

Cricket is obviously a fascinating game, but some outstanding partnerships add even more intrigue. The heated bond between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers on the pitch is always cherished by fans among all pairings.

With Virat Kohli, AB has posted five 100+ partnerships for RCB and two 200+ partnerships, the only pair in the T20 format to post two such partnerships.

“Two partnerships with him”- AB de Villiers talks about Virat Kohli and them batting together

The greatest partnership in IPL history remains the 229-run partnership between De Villiers and Kohli for the second wicket against the Gujarat Lions in 2016 at the Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru. It’s interesting to note that the two had an undefeated 215-run partnership against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in 2015.

Finally, the key to fruitful collaboration is out. De Villiers explained why he enjoyed batting with Virat Kohli in an interview with the Beard Before Wicket Podcast.

“We played the game in a similar way. We are very busy at the crease, running hard. Really look to get behind what the bowlers are trying to do, and find a way to attack the bowlers.

“There were two partnerships with him, one at the Wankhede and one at the Chinnaswamy, both were day games. Both of us were in our form of our lives. That always helps. I just love batting with him. He is very competitive like me, and we love taking the bowlers down. It was nice to have that experience with him in front of a loud crowd; it was incredible,” ABD said in the podcast.

AB de Villiers retired from IPL after the 2021 tournament with 5162 runs in 184 games with 3 centuries and a strike rate of 151.68

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